To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel which consists of a number of positive and negative themes. Lee has utilised the way of life and the attitude towards Negros' in the 1930's to create a intriguing novel which has enlightened the wider community on the matters of racism and prejudice in America in the 1930's. Even though the novel has a dark plot line there are a number of positive themes presented to the reader throughout the story, e.g. education, bravery and growing up.

The theme of bravery is amplified by the characters of Atticus and Jem. Atticus is the moral voice of the novel and his decision to defend Tom Robinson even though he knows there would be controversy and attacks on his character and family establishes his bravery. Early in the novel Jem learns that Atticus' disapproval of guns and Atticus's opinion that guns don't make men brave. This is distinguished when Atticus refuses to carry a gun to protect Tom and himself from the angry farmers is another sign of his bravery. Jem also exhibits his bravery during the scene where the mob came to lynch' Tom Robinson. He refuses to leave his father's side even after being ordered to by his father. Jem shows the utmost bravery to remain at with his father and face the angry mob of farmers. Another character who is brave is Mrs Dubose who is trying to wean herself of drugs before he dies. In the novel Scout makes a direct reference to Mrs Dubose and bravery, e.g. "I wanted to see what real courage is . . . she was the bravest person I ever knew" says Scout. These characters in the novel have been developed and in a number of scenes they have shown the reader their bravery.

In this novel Lee has helped the reader understand the positive theme of growing up in a segregated country. Even though Jem and Scout are surrounded by the dark events of Maycomb they are still able to enjoy themselves, e.g. by re-enacting the Boo Radley case. Lee has written the story in first-person and form the...

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...To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, reveals the development of Jem's character throughout the novel. The reader watches Jem undergo a metamorphosis during the three years that the novel spans. Boo Radley, Jem's family, and the Tom Robinson trial, shape Jem into what he becomes by the end of the book.
At the beginning of the novel, Jem was an immature little boy, and was curious about Boo Radley. Because he was a young child, Jem was fascinated with the unknown. Hence the many plots he came up with to try and bring Boo out the Radley house. After Jem met Dill Harris, Dill dared him to touch the side of the Radley house. Despite this, Jem still ran past it every day for school, because of the rumors surrounding Boo. Jem described Boo as being six and a half feet tall, his diet consisted of raw squirrels and cats, and said that he had bloodstained hands. This illustrates Jem's childish imagination. Jem would never show fear in front of Scout, so he ran up and touched the house. From what Jem has heard of Boo, he pieced together a play about the life of Boo. The children act out Boo stabbing his father, being taken to jail, and other events that Boo was rumored to have done. At this point in time, Jem does not have the slightest inclination that in doing this, the children would offend the Radleys. Later on, when the novelty of acting wore off, they decide to try and lure Boo out of his house. They tried and stick a note through his shutters...

...Firsthand Experiences
The amount of technology in this world is amazing and where we are in this era is incredible. As technology gets into the minds of children they seem to learn faster than before. It takes minutes for children to understand where adults never really grasp what they hold in their hands. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the knowledge of understanding in her story. Jean Louis Finch “Scout” matures by seeing and hearing events most kids her age do not with the trial of Tom Robinson’s trial revealing that firsthand experience brings knowledge.
Scout grows through her encounter with Dolphus Raymond outside the courthouse during the trial. Before the trial of Tom Robinson Scout has a negative opinion towards him. During the trial Dill becomes sick, so Dill and Scout proceeded outside and came across Dolphus Raymond. Scout and Dill sit at the tree and start talking, Scout narrates this, “As Mr. Dolphus Raymond was an evil man I accepted his invitation reluctantly, but I followed Dill. Somehow, I didn’t think Atticus would like it if we became friendly with Mr. Raymond, and I knew Aunt Alexandra wouldn’t (200-201). Scout is quite ignorant in this quote because she looks down on Mr. Raymond by calling Mr. Raymond a sinful man. She is inconsiderate to Mr. Raymond because she does not know what he is dealing with. The fact Scout says that Atticus would not want her talking to him is amazing because Atticus is compared to a...

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Scouts Views of the World Develops
“Humankind cannot bear very much reality” (quoted by T.S. Eliot). In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Scout faces the reality of the world. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Lee uses the n-word to demonstrate how Scout’s view of the world develops.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird in the very beginning of the book the n-word is used innocently. For example, when Dill, Scout, and Jem are walking together they are talking about the hot steam. Jem tells Dill how to avoid the hot steam then Scout says, “’ Don’t [Dill] believe a word he says, Dill’ [Scout] sa[ys] ‘Calpurnia says that’s [black people] talk…. let’s [go] role [down the hill] in the tire’” (Lee 37). Scout says the n-word innocently because she is repeating the n-word from what Calpurnia says. Another example is when Jem and Scout are playing in the yard when it had just snowed in Alabama and they were making a snowman and Scout says, “’ Jem, [she hasn’t even] heard of a [black] snowman,’ [Scout] sa[ys]” (66). Scout says that she has never heard of a “black” snowman before and she says this innocently because she didn’t know the full meaning of the word. Another example of the n-word being used innocently is when Scout is talking to Atticus and asks; “’ Do[es Atticus] defend [black people] …. [that]s what everybody at school says’” (75). In this quote Scout shows she doesn’t...

...Jean Louise "Scout" Finch makes several progressions as a character from the beginning of the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" to the end of part one. When Scout is introduced, she is shown as being a rude, hot-headed, quick-tempered little girl who sees nothing wrong with beating up the person who does her wrong. As she grows, she turns into a young girl who is still rude, hot-headed, and quick-tempered, but knows how to restrain her anger and not resort to physical violence. Scout learns about the harsh realities of life and that the people who live around her are biased and racist. In the first part of the novel, she learns and grows exponentially, and it shows.
In the first few chapters, Scout is shown to be a child who means well, but lacks the tact to not make her statements and explanations rude. This is shown when she is trying to explain the financial predicament of the Cunninghams. She tries to explain why he has no lunch by saying "He's a Cunningham" (p 26) and saying nothing else. She is rude when she later has to explain to the teacher, and she is punished for her rudeness. Later on in the story, when Walter Cunningham is eating lunch at the Finch's house, she openly criticizes him about his eating habits (p 32). This rudeness earns her another punishment, this time from Calpurnia.
However, as she gets older, Scout does learn some tact. She learns to hold her tongue (somewhat) and learns to explain things without being as rude....

...Laura Persichetti
December 15, 2003
Dr. Marlene Fleming
Writing 1
Comparison of the novel to the movie: To Kill a Mocking Bird.
There are usually differences in two different versions of something. This can often be seen when a book is formatted into a movie. There are many similarities and differences in the book and movie versions of “To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.”
For starters there are some significant main ideas missing from the movie. There are a few missing scenes from the book such as, the scene where Jem and Scout go to church with Calpurnia. This scene to me should have been reguarded as one of the most important scences in the book. Within this scene the readers learn of the respect that many of the black people in town have for the Finch children, as their daddy is defending a black man. You also learn that not all the black people feel this way and some are not very plesant to Jem and Scout. In this scene Calpurnia gets into a argument with another woman at church, she defends Jem and Scout’s right to come to the black church. This scene is also important because it shows the reader the depth of the love that Calpurnia has for the children, Jem and Scout. Upon doing some research if found that the director reportedly left this important scene out of the movie because in the court case there is another example of how the black people respect Mr. Finch. They all stand up when he walks out of...

... He was a simple deadbeat drunk that got fired from a job from the WPA for being lazy in the work place. “He was the only man I ever heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness” (332). When he lost his job he blamed it on Atticus, but Atticus could care less what Bob Ewell said. Even when Bob Ewell spat on Atticus, Atticus said he just wished Bob Ewell would not chew tobacco. He would beat his own daughter when he was drunk and Atticus used this in his defense to help Tom Robinson. Atticus showed who Bob Ewell really was. The jurors still didn’t believe the defense, but it ruined his reputation with the people of Maycomb. Mister Ewell wanted to try and kill Atticus’ children, Scout and Jem. He was almost successful with Jem, but the costume Scout was wearing saved her life from the knife Mr. Ewell used to try and kill them. Jem had a badly broken arm and was unconscious. Scout didn’t have a scratch on her, but her costume didn’t survive the attack.
She smelled stale whiskey on Bob Ewell when he tried to attack her and Jem. When scout ran into Bob Ewell he made an uff noise, but that wasn’t from Scout running into him. He made the noise because he stabbed himself with his own knife by accident. “Bob Ewell fell on his knife, He killed himself” (366). Atticus thought Jem did it, but the sheriff, Heck Tate, said Bob Ewell fell on his own knife. When Bob Ewell committed this act of attempted murder he was drunk on whiskey. He planned this act...

...because of its meager efforts for racial equality. The South is well known for being a stronghold of reactionary principles and in To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee composed an earnest tale focused on the lives of two children in Maycomb County. The consistent bigotry exposed in the narrative reveal a principle that African Americans did not receive- the opportunity to receive a fair trial and a slim chance of being found innocent. But who is responsible for not enforcing the laws that are written in the Constitution? The duty of this action falls highly into Maycomb’s restraints on tolerating change and diversity. Whether it was the poor farm families, the middle class townspeople, or the civil force, the historic racial complications set by the slave era established a dreadful social system that unfortunately underlies the rules that operate Maycomb.
President Franklin D Roosevelt announced during the Great Depression that the American South “represented the nation’s number one economic problem”. Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 by the enactment of the 13th amendment, the deep scars left by racial segregation contributed to the suffering of African Americans. The wounds intertwined with economic disasters caused by the Great Depression lead to southern Blacks drowning in the deep end of America’s economic despair. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout portrayed Maycomb as an “Old town, but it was a tired old...

...To kill a mockingbird theme essay
The book “to kill a mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, uses the mockingbird to symbolize innocence. There are people in widely different situations who are innocent, such as Jem and Scout, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. The story takes place in a small town called Maycomb, in Alabama. There are two kids who go by the names Jem and Scout. Scout is the narrator of the story, and Jem is her older brother. They’re young, and still very innocent. Tom Robinson is a black man who has a loving family. He was accused of a crime that he did not commit. Arthur Radley, Boo, is a man who is looked after by his older brother after his dad died. People in the town have spread many different bad rumors about him that aren’t even true. Scout, Jem, Tom, and Arthur are all Mockingbirds as they are innocent to what happens. All this is related to today’s society where many people are accused of something that they never did.
The childhood innocence that Jem, Scout, and Dill were born with has been protecting them from the adult world problems, such as prejudice and discrimination, but as soon as Scout and Jem’s father was given the task to defend a black man, the door to that innocence is opened wide and left open. In Scout’s mind everybody is equal. “There’s only one kind of folks. Folks.” (Lee 227) Scout doesn’t realize that in the society that she lives in...